Speri (region)
Speri | |
---|---|
Ancient Region of Anatolia | |
Location | Northeastern Anatolia |
Speri, also known as Sper (
Origin
The name Speri is thought by some to be derived from
History
Antiquity
Tribe of Saspers are first mentioned in the works of Herodotus:[9]
Beyond the Persians, to the north, are the Medes; and next to them are the Saspires [Σάσπειρες]. Contiguous to these, and where the Phasis empties itself into the northern sea, are the Colchians.[10]
Late antique Sper was part of Armenia and is probably the Syspiritis of classical authors.[11] Syspiritis is mentioned in Strabo's Geographica: According to the legend, some of Armenus's followers settled in Acilisene, which was previously under the rule of the Sopheni, while others settled in Syspiritis, extending as far as Calachene and Adiabene, beyond the Armenian mountains. Strabo also mentions "mines of gold in the Hyspiratis".[12][13]
In the 5th century BC Saspers fell under the influence of Achaemenid Persia, the Sasperi formed the eighteenth satrapy while other Proto-Georgian tribes of Mushki, Tibal, Macrones, Mossynoeci and Mares were included in the nineteenth.[14][15] This tribes would later in 302 BC form Georgian Kingdom of Iberia.[16]
After the 380s partition of Armenia into Roman and Sasanian client states, Sper was one of nine districts forming the territory of the Armenian kingdom of Arshak III. Sper at that period was a principality, the ancestral domain of the Bagratuni clan. Their capital was the fortress of Smbatavan or Smbataberd, which may have been located either at Bayburt or Ispir. In the northern part of the principality was a territory lived in by non-Armenian people called Chalybes, whose name was preserved in the alternative Armenian name for the Sper valley: Khaghto Dzor (Chaldian Valley).[17] After Arshak's death, in 390 his kingdom was annexed by Rome and turned into a Roman province called Inner Armenia.
During the time of Justinian this province was incorporated into Armenia Magna ("Greater Armenia"). In the
Sper was a Bagratid domain in the fourth to sixth centuries but at some point they lost direct control of Bayburt to the Byzantine empire, possibly soon after 387. Bayburt was refortified by the Byzantines in the period of Justinian and was eventually incorporated into its theme of Chaldia.[19]
Middle Ages
In 1203,
During thirty one years the blessed Tamar, with the wisdom of Solomon, and the courage and care of Alexander, held her kingdom (firmly) in her hands, which stretched from the Pontic Sea to the sea of Gurgan, from Speri to Daruband, and all the lands on this side of the Caucasus Mountains, as well as Khazaria and Scythia on the other side. She became the heiress of what was promised in the nine Beatitudes.
In the 15th century Sper was controlled by the
Early modern history
In 1520 Sper became a kaza within the Ottoman Empire; in 1536 speri became a sanjak.[20] The Ispir valley was still almost completely Armenian Christian in the early 16th century: the Ottoman census recorded no Muslims.[19] Muslims would increase in later centuries and eventually become the majority.[citation needed]
In 1548, during the
During
Notes
References
- ^ E. Takaishvili. "Georgian chronology and the beginning of the Bagrationi rule in Georgia".- Georgica, v. I, London, 1935
- ^ Al. Manvelichvili. "Histoire de la Georgie", Paris, 1955
- ^ K. Salia. "History of the Georgian Nation", Paris, 1983
- ISBN 978-1780230702p 18
- ISBN 9781407301129.
- ^ Salia, Kalistrat (1980). Histoire de la nation géorgienne. pp. 30–41.
- ^ Reisner, Oliver; Nodia, Ghia (2009). Identity Studies, Vol 1. Ilia State University Press. p. 51.
- ^ Mikaberidze, Alexander. Historical Dictionary Of Georgia. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 2007.
- ^ "The History of Herodotus, By Herodotus". www.gutenberg.org. Retrieved 2024-04-15.
- ^ Melpom 37
- ISBN 0-691-04945-9.
- ^ Strabo, Geography 11.14.12
- ^ Toumanoff, p. 9
- ISBN 978-0-253-20915-3.
- ISBN 978-1-135-20302-3.
- ISBN 978-1-135-20302-3.
- ^ Robert H. Hewsen, Summit of the Earth, p35-37, in Armenian Karin / Erzurum Richard G. Hovannisian (ed.) 2003.
- ^ Robert H. Hewsen, Summit of the Earth, p36, 41-42, in Armenian Karin / Erzurum Richard G. Hovannisian (ed.) 2003.
- ^ ISBN 9780907132325.
- ^ a b c Hovann H. Simonian (ed.), The Hemshin - History, society and identity in the Highlands of Northeast Turkey, 2007, page 34.